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That's true, even in undefeated Huntingdon's case.

The Mustangs captured an easy 60-9 victory over Livingston in the TNT State Junior High Class AAA quarterfinals. The stakes were raised Saturday night in the state semifinals.

The 15-0 Mustangs were challenged and faced their toughest foe of the season in Selmer. Where last week's lopsided game wasn't as close as the score indicated, Huntingdon's 38-30 victory over the talented Lions was closer than the score. The state semifinal victory means that the Mustangs will play for the state championship 2:30 Saturday at the Springfield Center. They will likely play against a perennially good Pickett County team.
"It was 38-30, but it didn't feel like it," said an exhausted Bill Ezell, Mustang coach. "Those kids were good; they had a good ballclub."

The Mustangs found themselves in unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory: they faced a team every bit as athletic and talented as themselves. Huntingdon shooters had seven of their shots rejected, which was new ground. Selmer's Ken Bingham was a handful as well.

He was able to get above the rim and was equally deadly from the perimeter. He finished with 18 points.

"Bingham was a good player, better than I thought he'd be," said Ezell. "He fought against our whole front line all night."

The Mustangs took the opening tip and drove right to the bucket. Brent Taylor scored the easy layup just four seconds into the game. Then Bingham scored the next four points and Selmer held a 4-2 lead. Chris Donald scored on a jump shot to knot the score then Brandon Lambert boosted the Lions in front 6-4 at the end of the first.

Huntingdon struggled with a 2-9 performance from the floor and managed only three boards. Perhaps the Mustangs were shocked by the prowess of Selmer. But the Mustangs soon recovered with an 8-0 run to start the second.

Donald scored six points while Cody Crocker tacked on a pair and the Mustangs took a 12-6 lead. Strayhorn, Donald and Crocket scored again and Huntingdon broke for the dressing room with an 18-14 halftime lead.

In the third frame, both teams cooled off again, but Selmer closed within a point, 20-19, when Bingham scored with 2:46 to play.

Huntingdon scored the final six points, bolstered by a breakaway bucket from Tay Strayhorn and four free throws from Donald.

Strayhorn and Donald scored early in the fourth to give the Mustangs a 30-21, a lead that wasn't as safe as it might have appeared.

Huntingdon appeared to be in a bit of a hurry to score despite the big lead late. Ezell assured the team that game management will be a point of emphasis this week.

"We were in a big hurry to take it to the rack," said Ezell. "We have to take care of the situation better."

Still, the Mustangs held off their toughest challenge of the season.

"We made some mistakes, but we showed some poise when we had to," said Ezell. "The pressure on these kids since last year has been enormous and they've had to earn their way back."

The Mustangs were state runners-up last year.

Donald led the Mustangs with 24 points. "And Chris worked for every one he got," said Ezell. Strayhorn scored six while Crocker and Taylor had four apiece.

Following Bingham's 18, Keevon Jamison had eight for Selmer.
 

"I'm proud of the team and happy we won," said McKenzie coach Larry Joe Smith. "To get to the regional tournament is an accomplishment."

The Rebels, 6-15 overall, will play again 6:30 Thursday night at Lexington against top-seeded Milan in the 11AA semifinals. See complete results in next week's Banner.

On Monday night, Huntingdon sizzled against Clarksburg to the tune of a 30-for-60 shooting night.

The Fillies won the game with the Lady Rockets 72-16. Conversely, McKenzie struggled at Dresden and suffered a 48-38 loss.

Tuesday night, the teams appeared to switch roles as the Fillies visited the Lady Rebels. McKenzie wrested a 33-23 victory from Huntingdon, avenging a six-point loss to the Fillies on Dec. 10.

If there was ever a basketball equivalent to a pitcher's duel, this was it. Huntingdon, without the services of junior center and all-state candidate Crystal Fuller, faced a 3-2 zone defense from the Lady Rebels. McKenzie rolled the dice in the post and tried to shut down the fearsome trio of shooters.

It worked. The Fillies were held to only seven field goals for the game.

"That was as good as our defense has played all year long," said McKenzie coach Dan Ridley. "Even Mike (Henson, Fillies' coach) said our defense offset them. We stayed with the 3-2 and stuck with it the whole game."

But it's not like Huntingdon's defense wilted. It limited McKenzie to 33 points.

"When you give up 33 points, you ought to feel pretty good," said a puzzled Henson. "We just didn't play very well offensively."

The two archrivals squared off in a defensive struggle early. Jasmine McMackins swished a triple, followed by a long ball that just barely missed threedom from Lakeah Lockhart, a shot that tied the game at 5. Becky Toomb's stickback lifted MHS to a 7-5 lead at the end of one.

McKenzie's lead bulged to six, 15-9, at the half. Renee Crawley scored all four of her points in the frame and the Lady Rebels held Huntingdon scoreless for the last 6:26.

The HHS drought continued for another 1:22 when Lockhart connected again. Soon, however, McKenzie had built a 20-12 lead mid way in the third.

That's when the Fillies made a run. Lockhart and Kodia Tharpe each hit free throws, followed by a breakaway bucket by Brooke Pritchard. The lead had been whittled to a deuce, 20-18.

Huntingdon held the ball for what could have been the game-tying bucket in the last 30 seconds, but a super defensive stand from McKenzie forced a bad shot. The two-point margin had been preserved.

"We had opportunities to tie the game and didn't, then they made a shot and we fouled," said Henson. "Just like that, a two point game turned into a six-point game."

Huntingdon never got as close again.

In the final frame, defense and rebounding made the difference. The Fillies were a frosty 2-12 from the floor in the fourth. As a result, McKenzie did a lot of window washing. Kristen Wiggins had nine rebounds in the quarter, which may be a school record for boards in a single quarter. McKenzie was a bit warmer on offense, going 4-15 from the floor. But the Lady Rebels cleared 15 rebounds in the fourth, seven of which were on the offensive end.

"That's it right there," said Ridley, personally praising players during the interview process. "Rebounding will win games for you. And when Kristen decides to take over a game, you can just see it in her eyes."

Wiggins and Toombs had big nights as McKenzie pulled away in the fourth.

"I thought Becky and Kristen got good shots and some runouts," Ridley said. "We took care of the ball and the press didn't seem to bother us."

It was a particurly sweet win for MHS, beating an archrival on senior night.

"At Riverside, the juniors won it," said Ridley. "Tonight, it was the seniors and I was thrilled we had them on the floor at the end."

Ridley pondered taking them out to collect applause, but the seniors said they'd rather be in the game at the end.

McKenzie finished 13-37 from the floor and had 29 total rebounds. Toombs led MHS with eight points. Wiggins and McMackins each scored seven. Julie Smith had three. Mallory Brandon and Hope Wyder each had two. Toombs pulled down five rebounds.

Huntingdon was 7-27 from the floor and collected 19 rebounds. Lakeah Lockart led the Fillies with 10 points. Ashlee Lockhart had five and Tharpe scored four. Pritchard and Waneca Melton each had two.

Huntingdon's Terrance Bell rang out for 17 third-quarter points, 23 total, as the Mustangs turned in a 57-46 victory over McKenzie.

Bell essentially ruined what had been a pretty good game from McKenzie.

"Bell really got rolling there," said Huntingdon coach Jason Morris. "We didn't have much intensity until he got hot."

It had been a pretty solid performance for McKenzie's basketball team. But the Rebels have a knack of facing teams who have a player, or collection of players, have a phenomenal night.

"I didn't think we played that badly; I asked the kids to play with desire and to play for Ryan Drewry, our senior,"said MHS coach Larry Joe Smith. "Obviously, Bell was the difference in the game. He had a lot of uncontested layups and he picked our pockets a few times."

McKenzie had a solid game and a solid game plan as it took a 13-11 lead in the first quarter. Bryan Huffman's triple provided a spark for the Rebs in the final 2:37 where they outscored the Mustangs 6-2.

Junior John French's triple early in the second quarter gave the Rebels a bit of separation, 16-12, but the Mustangs fought back and led 18-16. It was a teeter-totter affair the rest of the way.
Huntingdon forged a 22-18 margin on the back of Bell and John Thomas. But Daniel Duncan and French answered to tie the game with four quick points. Kenneth Hillsman scored to give HHS a 27-22 lead, but Huffman and French ended the half with four points in the final :39.

Then someone gave Bell the anesthesia because he was unconscious. In a 91 second span, he hit four shots without a miss, was 8-12 himself in the third and turned a 28-27 deficit into a 35-28 lead. In the final 6:31 of the third, Bell and Co. scorched a 19-4 run and took a 48-32 lead.

"We hit a spurt and then we tapered off again," Morris said. "We need to have Bell, Thomas and Hillsman contributing with consistency."

The Rebels tried to cut into the lead in the fourth and did a decent job, but Bell's resonance proved to be insurmountable. The Rebs trimmed the lead to 11, but could get no closer.

"We knew it was going to be a dogfight; I knew McKenzie would give us a battle," Morris said. "I wasn't happy with our intensity early."

Smith said he wasn't disappointed with the effort of his team.

"Huntingdon is a good team, but we were tired and lost a step. It was our third game in four days and it showed," Smith said. "But we knew we owed them a better ball game than what we showed last time."

McKenzie was 14-39 from the floor and had 20 rebounds, six from the offensive side. French had 11 points, Duncan 10, Huffman nine and John Craig Howell with seven. Drewry finished his regular-season career with three. Clint Anderson, Randy Lacey and Jordan Trull each had two.

Huntingdon was 22-49 from the field and had 32 total rebounds. Following Bell's 23 was Hillsman and Thomas with 10 each. Brian Nellett had five, Robert Weathers had four, Clint Kee three and Garrett Meggs with two.

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